Keir Starmer’s digital ID campaign ‘nothing wanting a fiasco’, damning report guidelines
MPs on the Home Affairs Committee said the Government’s disastrous handling of its digital ID proposals will make it very hard to convince the public it is a good idea in future
Protesters outside Parliament last year demanding a U-turn(Image: @BigBrotherWatch)
Keir Starmer’s digital ID crusade was doomed to fail and will make it harder to convince the public of its benefits in future, a damning report has found.
The cross-party Home Affairs Committee accused the Government of rushing forward with plans without doing the policy work needed, or getting voters onboard. The Government was forced to drop plans for mandatory ID cards following a huge backlash.
MPs found that while rolling out digital ID could be helpful, the disastrous handling of the policy has damaged public trust. Dame Karen Bradley, who chairs the committee, said: “The government’s early attempts to set out its plans for digital ID were nothing short of a fiasco.
“To the public this announcement came out of the blue and made little sense. It raised fears of government over-reach into people’s lives and was so poorly thought out that they had few answers to ease these concerns.
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“It is worth bearing in mind that this was a policy direction that was generally well received by the public before they were spooked by the government’s poorly thought out and badly explained plans. Ministers have rightly gone back to the drawing board and begun the difficult task of rebuilding trust in what has the potential to be a valuable tool for government.”
In September last year, Mr Starmer announced digital ID would be mandatory for proving the right to work in the UK by 2029. But the move was met with huge opposition, including a petition demanding ministers back down, which attracted three million signatures.
The Government now says that while digital right-to-work checks will be made mandatory, there will be no requirement to use digital ID. A public consultation has also been launched on how to introduce online identification checks.
Last year think-tank Labour Together – a key ally of Mr Starmer – proposed introducing a BritCard, which would allow everyone in the UK to prove their right to live and work in the country.
In September, the PM said: “Digital ID is an enormous opportunity for the UK. It will make it tougher to work illegally in this country, making our borders more secure.”
But the committee report said the Government failed to make a convincing case. It said: “There was no rigorous policy development and no public consultation ahead of the announcement.
“For the general public the proposal came out of the blue, causing alarm and uncertainty. A lack of careful preparation and poor communication left the Government unable to respond to questions about how the policy would operate or address widespread concerns about its impact.”
It also warned that the mishandling of the policy needlessly threatened to undermine the digital verification services sector, which is worth around £2billion to the UK economy.
Alexander Iosad from the Tony Blair Institute insisted more people support digital ID than oppose it. He said: “No doubt, the government could have done a better job of articulating the benefits of digital ID in the weeks after the initial announcement. But it spurred an important public debate and that debate is ongoing.”
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has been a long term advocate for ID cards, but the previous Labour Government’s efforts to bring in a scheme were unsuccessful.
